The German Championship - our dream. The ESL Spring Meisterschaft 2017 in Duisburg was a resounding success on multiple fronts. Not only were we the winners of the event, but so were the fans who cheered passionately throughout. They were rewarded with some nail-biting and incredibly exciting matches at Duisburg's Landschaftspark.
After the multi-hour journey with Deutsche Bahn on Friday, June 5, 2017, there was plenty of time to recover and prepare for the day ahead. Of course, good food was a must, so "Sushi" was first on the agenda.
The following day, the team entered the tournament well-rested and in high spirits. Facing Panthers meant running into some old acquaintances, which only made us more motivated from the very start.
However, we did not prepare specifically for our ESL Meisterschaft opponents due to the upcoming ESL Pro League relegation against Virtus.Pro and the ESEA Global Challenge. "We deliberately did not prepare for the ESL Meisterschaft participants because of time constraints — at that point, the ESEA Global Challenge and the EPL relegation took priority for us. We were warned and did not underestimate Panthers.[...]" ~Fatih "gob b" DayikThe strong start in the semifinal against Panthers on Mirage (16:2) cemented nex's excellent performance, which he carried straight into the second map. Here, however, Panthers showed that they could compete far better than anyone had predicted. After a miserable T-side performance and a final 14:16 on Cobblestone, it was suddenly 1-1 on maps in a single-elimination bracket. Our backs were against the wall.
"Of course I was not happy with that at all — we lacked focus and gave away rounds carelessly.[...]" ~Fatih "gob b" DayikAfter Panthers initially took a 4:0 lead on the third map, Overpass, we found our form from the first map again and won 16 rounds in a row. Final score: 16:04!
The result was 2:1, thanks in large part to an outstanding performance from Johannes "nex" Maget from start to finish. Overall, "nex" led the scoreboard with a 1.4 rating, 63 frags, and nearly 90 ADR. As the tournament would go on to show, that was no exception.
One step closer to the goal, the legendary organization ALTERNATE aTTaX was up next. It was especially special to play for the German Championship in front of a sold-out crowd. The mood and atmosphere were phenomenal — the dream of winning the German Championship felt within reach.
The final against ALTERNATE aTTaX started well: after winning the pistol round, we also took the two follow-up rounds. In between, however, aTTaX played strongly, and the first half on Cache ended 8:7. It was already clear that the final would be no easy task.
After the side swap, aTTaX initially evened things out, but a smart force buy gave us the right answer immediately, and we closed out the first map with a narrow but deserved 16:12. Alongside the right calls from our captain Fatih "gob b" Dayik, Johannes "nex" Maget and Nikola "LEGIJA" Ninic once again delivered very solid performances in front of the home crowd.
On the following map, Train, aTTaX built a clear lead in the first half with a strong CT side and ultimately prevailed 16:13 despite our comeback attempt. Christian "crisby" Schmitt stood out in particular with a 1.47 rating, over 95 ADR, and 28 frags — a standout performance that was instrumental in the legendary organization's interim success.
Still, there were highlights and strong individual performances on our side as well, so we could hope for a better third map. Here is the highlight video on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcQllNVmifI So it went the full distance — the German Championship would be decided on Inferno. Right from the start, aTTaX took a 4:0 lead after winning the pistol round, but we stood up to them and, through smart decisions and an outstanding "nex," broke down the CT setup to close the half at a very successful 8:7.
Kevin "keev" Bartholomäus also had a major impact on the comeback, keeping his cool in an excellently executed 1v3. Definitely a highlight. Here is the link to the highlight video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbElTM09EGU The second half started much better, and we won the first five rounds in a row before aTTaX found an answer to our setup and turned the game around again. Still, we kept our nerves in the decisive moments and successfully held off aTTaX's attacks. It remained a thriller until the very end.
At 15:10, we suddenly could not find answers anymore, and aTTaX clawed their way back to 15:14. The German Championship would be decided in the final regulation round. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFMMC8BEmOo aTTaX, having won four rounds in a row, exploited our defensive setup to take bomb site A together. This time, however, Fatih "gob b" Dayik read it perfectly and eliminated the first two attackers from the sandboxes. "nex" provided the necessary support, used the distraction to his advantage, and took out two more opponents.
Lukas 'ecfN' Kauer made it tense one last time — the crowd on site was barely containable at that point. Johannes "nex" Maget and Johannes "tabseN" Wodarz both fell to "ecfN." Kevin "keev" Bartholomäus, however, was there in time and kept his cool. Final score 16:14 — we were the proud winners of ESL Spring Meisterschaft 2017 and had fulfilled our dream of lifting the title.
Player of the tournament was Johannes "nex" Maget. He delivered another outstanding performance in the final and was instrumental in our success. Still, it was naturally a complete team effort — in the end, everyone did their role justice.
"The German Championship is still a prestigious tournament that every German player wants to win. We wanted to show that we are number one in Germany, and we did. For me, anything less than the title would have been a huge disappointment. It is a team game — we worked well together, so I do not want to overrate my performance, but overall I was very happy with how I played. There is also a difference between playing the German Championship and an international tournament — unfortunately, the level is not comparable."~Johannes "nex" Maget
We leave the tournament as German champions and national number one, after four maps won and two lost. It was a great experience and an important achievement for our organization. With this first title, a dream has come true, and we say GG WP to all participants while also extending a huge thank you to every fan who supported us on site and from home!
"Many of our fans already saw us as clear favorites before the event — the external pressure was enormous. That naturally gets to every player. I remain proud of this performance; everyone on the team has worked hard over the past months. I am especially impressed by the discipline the team has shown for weeks. They live for their work and continuously set goals they want to achieve together. Mistakes are analyzed constructively, and solutions are sought to become better GEMEINSAM. The way the team handles setbacks is remarkable. Even under immense pressure and in nearly hopeless situations, the motto is "Never stop believing," which makes me personally especially proud. That is where the team's true strength shows — they are a real team, and I am confident that one day they will hold a trophy together again. They would deserve it." ~Daniel Finkler, CEO BIGA documentary from the ESL Meisterschaft will also be released on our YouTube channel, taking you behind the scenes once again and making the emotions tangible. Thank you for your support!